1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector which is electrically connected to a substrate in which a conductor pattern and electrodes at ends of the conductor pattern are provided on a surface of the substrate, the connector having contacts connected to the electrodes of the substrate. More specifically, the present invention relates to a connector that is appropriate for use with a glass substrate which forms a plasma display panel, the connector having contacts connected to electrodes of the glass substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a connector is electrically connected to a substrate wherein a conductor pattern and electrodes at ends of the conductor pattern are provided on a surface of the substrate, the connector having contacts connected to the electrodes of the substrate. For example, the substrate of this kind is used for card type information recording media, liquid-crystal display panels and plasma display panels.
A method of electrically connecting the connector to the substrate of the above type is that the connector contacts are mounted on the substrate electrodes by applying a pressing force, and the connections between the contacts and the electrodes are made by soldering. Another method is that a connector, having an insertion portion wherein contacts are internally provided, is inserted into an electrode portion of a substrate from the side of the substrate, and a frictional connection between the contacts and the substrate electrodes is made by the insertion operation.
In the former method, no substantial frictional connection between the contact and the electrode is required. This method may be called a zero insertion force method. The pressing and soldering steps of this method do not damage the substrate electrodes or the connector contacts. However, the individual connections between the contacts and the electrodes must be made by soldering. The soldering operations needed are time consuming, and the operability of this method is poor.
In the latter method, the frictional connection between the contacts and the electrodes can be easily performed by a one-touch operation. However, when the attaching of the connector to the substrate and the detaching of the connector from the substrate are repeated, the repeated operations in this method will cause the wearing or deformation of the substrate electrodes or the connector contacts, which is liable to damage the electrodes or the contacts.
As disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.10-83873, an improved structure of connection between a glass substrate and a printed circuit board has been proposed in order to eliminate the above problems. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a configuration of the connection structure of the connector and the substrate disclosed in the above document.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a liquid-crystal display panel 1 is formed by the glass substrate to be connected to the printed circuit board. In the liquid-crystal display panel 1, a liquid-crystal plate is interposed between two opposing glass substrates 3a and 3b, and each of the glass substrates 3a and 3b has transparent electrodes 2 provided therein. In the glass substrate 3b, the transparent electrodes 2 include respective extended parts which are exposed. The printed circuit board 4 includes a display driver circuit (L5I) and other circuits (not shown) provided thereon, and the display driver circuit controls the liquid-crystal display panel 1 connected to the printed circuit board 4.
The printed circuit board 4 includes a female connector 5 provided at a peripheral edge of the board. The transparent electrodes 2 of the glass substrate 3b serve as the male contacts. When the glass substrate 3b is inserted to the female connector 5, the electrodes 2 are connected to the connector 5 so that electric connection between the glass substrate 3b and the printed circuit board 4 is established.
As shown in FIG. 2, the female connector 5 is provided with a female contact 6, a housing 7, and a slider 8. The female contact 6 has a resilient characteristic. The housing 7 accommodates the female contact 6 inside the housing. The slider 8 is movably attached to the housing 7, and it is moved relative to the housing 7 when the glass substrate 3b is inserted to the female connector 5, so that the slider 8 serves to hold the transparent electrodes 2 of the glass substrate 3b with the female contact 6.
The slider 8 includes a holding portion 8a and a pair of 5 mounting portions 8b. The holding portion 8a is extending along the width direction of the board 4. The mounting portions 8b are provided at ends of the holding portion 8a to attach the slider 8 to the housing 7. The holding portion 8a includes a flat holding surface 8c on the top thereof, and this holding surface 8c holds the glass substrate 3b with the female contact 6 when the glass substrate 3b is inserted to the female connector 5. The holding portion 8a includes a slanted surface 8d on the bottom thereof, and the holding portion 8a has a decreasing thickness along the direction of the insertion of the glass substrate 3b. 
The housing 7 includes a pair of grooved portions 7a at positions corresponding to the mounting portions 8b of the slider 8. The mounting portions 8b are movably attached to the grooved portions 7a, and the slider 8 is movable relative to the housing 7 within a given range of allowance along the direction of the insertion of the glass substrate 3b. 
In the connection structure shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, when the glass substrate 3b is inserted to the female connector 5, the slider 8 is moved relative to the housing 7 in the direction of the insertion, so that the holding portion 8a is pushed inside the housing 7 and the glass substrate 3b is held between the female contact 6 and the holding surface 8c of the slider 8.
According to the above-described connection structure, the number of the connection points can be reduced to a value that is smaller than that of a conventional connection method using a flexible printed circuit board and an anisotropic conduction rubber connector. The reliability of connection of the connector and the substrate can be increased. Further, the number of the needed parts and the number of the needed assembly processes are decreased, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
However, in the above-described connection structure, it is difficult to maintain the contact condition of the female contact 6 and the electrodes 2 with adequate stability. When the connector 5 is connected to the glass substrate 3b, the slider 8 exerts pressure onto the female contact 6 via the electrodes 2, which will cause the deformation of the female contact 6. The pressure exerted by the slider 8 onto the female contact 6 reduces the spring force of the female contact 6, which will make the contact condition of the female contact 6 and the electrodes 2 inadequate or unstable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved connector in which the above-described problems are eliminated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector that is easily connected to the substrate by a one-touch operation, and maintains the contact condition of the connector contacts and the substrate electrodes with adequate stability.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector that requires no insertion force when it is connected to the substrate, and does not damage the substrate electrodes or the connector contacts.
The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by a connector which is electrically connected to a substrate in which a conductor pattern and electrodes at ends of the conductor pattern are provided on a surface of the substrate, the connector comprising: a plurality of contacts which are resiliently connectable to the electrodes of the substrate which is inserted in the connector; an insulator member which contains the contacts arrayed therein; and a slider unit which is movably attached to the insulator member, the slider unit including a plurality of lugs connectable to respective edges of the contacts contained in the insulator member, wherein the connector is configured such that the respective edges of the contacts are connected to the plurality of lugs of the slider unit before the slider unit is moved relative to the insulator member, so as to separate the contacts from the electrodes of the substrate, and the respective edges of the contacts are disconnected from the plurality of lugs after the slider unit is moved relative to the insulator member, so that the contacts are resiliently connected to the electrodes of the substrate.
The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by a connector which is electrically connected to a substrate in which a conductor pattern and electrodes at ends of the conductor pattern are provided on a surface of the substrate, the connector comprising: a plurality of contacts which are resiliently connectable to the electrodes of the substrate, wherein the contacts are arrayed in a staggered arrangement including first contacts and second contacts which are alternately arrayed; an insulator member which contains the plurality of contacts arrayed therein; and a slider unit which is movably attached to the insulator member, wherein the slider unit includes first-width portions and second-width portions arrayed in a staggered arrangement, and the first width portions including lugs provided at lower positions of the first-width portions, the lugs being connectable to respective edges of the first contacts in the insulator member, and the second-width portions including connecting areas provided at upper positions of the second-width portions, the connecting areas being connectable to respective projections of the second contacts in the insulator member, wherein the connector is configured such that, before the slider unit is moved relative to the insulator member, the respective edges of the first contacts are connected to the lugs of the first-width portions and the respective projections of the second contacts are connected to the connecting areas of the second-width portions, so as to separate the plurality of contacts from the electrodes, and wherein the connector is configured such that, after the slider unit is moved relative to the insulator member, the respective edges of the first contacts are disconnected from the lugs of the first-width portions and the respective projections of the second contacts are disconnected from the connecting areas of the second-width portions, so that the plurality of contacts are resiliently connected to the electrodes.
The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by a connector which is electrically connected to a substrate in which a conductor pattern and electrodes at ends of the conductor pattern are provided on a surface of the substrate, the connector comprising: a plurality of contacts which are resiliently connectable to the electrodes of the substrate; an insulator member which contains the plurality of contacts arrayed therein, wherein the insulator member includes a cam groove at each of side surfaces of the insulator member, the cam grooves including low-level steps and high-level steps, and the insulator member is configured such that the substrate carrying the electrodes can be inserted to or removed from the insulator member; and a slider unit which is movably attached to the insulator member, the slider unit including projections connectable to intermediate portions of the contacts contained in the insulator member, the projections of the slider unit being fitted to the cam grooves of the insulator member, wherein the connector is configured such that, before the slider unit is moved relative to the insulator member, the projections of the slider unit are connected to the low-level steps of the cam grooves, so as to separate the contacts from the electrodes of the substrate inserted to the connector, and wherein the connector is configured such that, after the slider unit is moved relative to the insulator member, the projections of the slider unit are connected to the high-level steps of the cam grooves, so that the contacts are resiliently connected to the electrodes of the substrate by the connection between the projections and the intermediate portions of the contacts.
The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by a connector which is electrically connected to a substrate in which a conductor pattern and electrodes at ends of the conductor pattern are provided on a surface of the substrate, the connector comprising: a plurality of contacts which are resiliently connectable to the electrodes of the substrate; a contact unit which contains the contacts arrayed therein; and a housing which contains the contact unit in a manner that the contact unit is rotatable relative to the housing, the housing being configured such that the substrate carrying the electrodes can be inserted to or removed from the housing, wherein the connector is configured such that the contacts are separated from the electrodes before the substrate is inserted to the housing, and, after the substrate is inserted to the housing, the contacts are resiliently connected to the electrodes through the rotation of the contact unit relative to the housing.
In one preferred embodiment the present invention, the connector is configured such that the contacts are separated from the electrodes of the substrate before the slider unit is moved relative to the insulator member. No substantial frictional force is required when the substrate is inserted to or removed from the connector, which prevents the damaging of the substrate electrodes or the connector contacts. Further, the connector is configured such that the contacts are resiliently connected to the electrodes after the slider unit is moved relative to the insulator member. The connector can be easily connected to the substrate by a one-touch operation, and can maintain the contact condition of the contacts and the substrate electrodes with adequate stability because of the spring force of the contacts. The deformation or damaging of the contacts over an extended period of time as in the conventional connector is remarkably reduced.